Multi-purpose cutting device

ABSTRACT

A multi-purpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, a cutting blade, means to move the blade relative to and through a portion of the article to produce a slice, cutting grid means, wiper means to force said slice through said grid means to subdivide said slice. The multi-purpose cutting device further includes a frame that supports a movable pusher which carries the wiper means. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cutting blade also travels with the movable pusher. Retaining means are provided on the frame to hold an article and a cutting grid is also secured to the frame. The pusher moves relative to the retaining means so that the cutting blade is accordingly moved relative to and through a portion of the article to produce the slice which then drops down onto the grid as the pusher continues its stroke. The cutting of the article to produce the slice is closely followed up by the action of the wiper means which forces the cut portion of the slice through the grid means to produce, in the case of lettuce, a satisfactorily shredded product.

United States Patent [191 Giangiulio 1 Oct. 16, 1973 Primary Examiner-Gerald A. Dost Attorney-Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein and Cohen [5 7] ABSTRACT A multi-purpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, a cutting blade, means to move the blade relative to and through a portion of the article to produce a slice, cutting grid means, wiper means to force said slice through said grid means to subdivide said slice.

The multi-purpose cutting device further includes a frame that supports a movable pusher which carries the wiper means. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cutting blade also travels with the movable pusher. Retaining means are provided on the frame to hold an article and a cutting grid is also secured to the frame. The pusher moves relative to the retaining means so that the cutting blade is accordingly moved relative to and through a portion of the article to produce the slice which then drops down onto the grid as the pusher continues its stroke. The cutting of the article to produce the slice is closely followed up by the action of the wiper means which forces the cut portion of the slice through the grid means to produce, in the case of lettuce, a satisfactorily shredded product.

11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures a a o T 2a 45 s vssgzaa PATENIEmm 161m SHEET 30F 3 QQI m l zwme CLAYTON E, GIANGlULlO MULTI-PURPOSE CUTTING DEVICE This invention relates to a multi-purpose cutting device and has as its objective the provision of a new and improved cutting device which will operate reliably over long periods of time, and yet will also achieve great savings in labor and safety for kitchen personnel.

Throughout the years, a large variety of cutting devices have been developed for use in connection with fruits and vegetables. Certain of these devices have generally operated in a satisfactory manner and have achieved significant commercial success. In spite of the large variety of devices that can be uncovered in both the patent literature and the trade literature, nevertheless, it is surprising that an inexpensive, multi-purpose cutter, for certain types of produce, still does not exist. In the case of tomatoes, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,582 solved a long existing need to provide a high speed, low cost manual tomato slicing machine. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,582, there was provided a specially designed coring device for high speed removal of tomato cores, onion cores and similar undesirable portions of other produce. a

For many years the shredding of lettuce has been a time consuming, costly operation for restaurants and other high volume feeding businesses. In general, the process of shredding lettuce involves subdividing the head of lettuce into slices and then using ones hands and fingers to pull the slice apart and into shreds of lettuce. This operation is not only tedious, but sometimes unsanitary, except for the use of very expensive equipment.

The present invention has accordingly provided a high speed, low cost cutting device which will produce shredded lettuce in an efficient manner. Furthermore, the present invention can be used in connection with many other types of fruits and vegetables, including oriions, carrots, potatoes or just about any other fruit or vegetable except very dense produce, like turnips and sweet potatoes. Furthermore, the shredding effect of the present invention can be modified to achieve a dieing action which is sometimes desirable in the case of potatoes, onion, carrots and other similar-type vegetables.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to produce a mult-purpose cutting device which can be constructed rather efficiently at a relatively low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a multi-purposecutting device which is relatively simple and inexpensive to clean and maintain.

Yet another object of the present invention is to produce a multi-purpose cutting device which is safe when used.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce a multi-purpose cutting device which will shred or dice a large variety of fruits and vegetables.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a multi-purpose cutting device which comprises meansto hold the article to be cut, a cutting blade, means to move the blade relative to and through a portion of the article to produce a slice, cutting grid means, wiper means to force the slice through the grid means to subdivide the slice.

The multi-purpose cutting device further includes a frame that supports a movable pusher which, in the preferred embodiment, carries the cutting blade as well as the wiper means. Retaining means are provided on the frame to hold the article, and a cutting grid is Se cured to the frame. The pusher moves relative to the retaining means so that the cutting blade is moved to and through the article to be cut to produce a slice that drops down onto the cutting grid, and further movement of the pusher causes the wiper means to force the slice through the cutting grid.

The retaining means preferably open out at an angle of at least and the transverse blades of the cutting grid make an angle of 30 with a vertical plane, although the longitudinal blades of the cutting grid will generally lie in a vertical plane with both the transverse and longitudinal blades having an upper sharpened edge which acts as a cutting blade.

The pusher is mounted for sliding movement on a track in the frame, and the pusher moves toward and away from the retaining means. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cutting blade is secured to the pusher and moves with the pusher. The cutting blade is mounted on or formed in the pusher in such a way that the cutting edge of the cutting blade is in a line that runs approximately 30 with respect to the path of pusher movement. The cutting grid is maintained at a point somewhat lower than the cutting blade so that the slice produced by the action of the cutting blade will drop down upon the cutting grid. In this way, the wiper means may act upon the slice to force the slice through the grid means to subdivide the slice in accordance with the cutting edges of the grid means.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will become more readily appreciated by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a three dimensional view showing a multipurpose cutting device embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view within the circular area defined by the arrow labelled No. 3 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the circular area defined within the arrow labelled by the No. 4 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG.-2 and showing the underside of the pusher;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the lines 7--7 of FIG. 2 and showing the cutting grid means;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view taken along the lines 88 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing a dicing grid that is used in place of the cutting grid means of FIG. 7.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1 a multi-purpose cutting device embodying the present invention. The various features of device 10 are best collectively seen in FIG. 2 wherein device 10 is shown to include stationary supporting frame 12, cutting grid means 14 secured to the frame 12 as well as retaining means 16, a movable pusher 18 mounted for sliding movement on frame 12, the pusher 18 including (FIG. 3) a cutting blade 20 and wiper means 22 which serves to force a slice of produce, achieved by the action of cutting blade 20, through transverse blades 24 (FIG. 7) and longitudinal blades 26 of the grid means M.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the frame 12 basically comprises a body portion 28 supported by legs 30 which rest upon upper surface 32 of table top 34. The frame 12 may be cast or extruded from an acid resistant aluminum alloy or other metal or alloy with the usual cutting or finishing steps in order to produce the shape shown in the drawings. Frame 12 further includes upstanding ledge 36 which extends from horizontal shoulder 38 that is a part of side 40. From FIG. it can be seen that a track 42 is formed within side 40 to leave inwardly projecting bosses 44.

As further seen in FIG. 5, the track 42 receives a side member 46 of the pusher 18, and in this way the pusher 18 is mounted for sliding movement within the stationary frame 12.

As will be seen, the cutting blade is mounted on the pusher 18 for movement therewith, whereas the retaining means 16 extends from the stationary frame 12. However, it is contemplated that the fruit or vegetable may be mounted for movement into and through a stationary blade, and for this reason, the respective movement of the blade and the means to hold the article to be cut may be regarded as relative movement of the blade to and through a portion of the article to produce a slice. Furthermore, the specific embodiment of the invention involves linear relative movement of the article to be cut and the cutting blade. It will occur to those skilled in the art that non-linear movement, such as pivoting, arcuate or rotary movement or movement in an irregular path, may, at times, depending upon the particular desirable cutting action or qualities of the article, afford certain efficiencies or advantages.

As previously discussed, the side members 46 of the pusher 18 are mounted for sliding movement in tracks 42 that are formed within the frame 12.

Furthermore, the bosses 44 also possess tracks 48 as partly defined by ledges 50 that permit grid means 14 to be slid into the frame 12 and then locked therein by engagement against a stop (not shown) adjacent the rear end of the cutting device.

With further reference to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the frame 12 is secured for movement away from front edge 52 of table top 34 by arms 54 which include engaging feet 56 that terminate in enlarged resilient engaging bumpers 58. The arms 54 merge into rods 60 which are received in a socket formed in boss 62 that extends from each of the forward legs 30 of the frame 12. As further seen in FIG. 1, the stability of the engagement of legs 30 with upper surface 32 of the table top 34 is enhanced by providing flat engaging legs 63 which extend inwardly from the frame legs 30.

With reference now to the pusher 18, it will be seen that the pusher l8 basically comprises an upper blade portion 64 and a lower adjustable pan portion 66. Each of the portions 64 and 66 extend between side members 46 as can be seen from FIG. 6. A handle 68 is provided to allow for the manual application of force to initiate sliding movement of the pusher 18. As seen in FIG. 2, the handle 68 is secured to a plate 70 which, in turn, is secured to the under-surface of the blade portion 64.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the blade portion 64 terminates in the cutting blade 20 adjacent the slot 72 (FIG. 3) which runs generally parallel to the blade 20.

With reference to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the blade 20 extends 30 with respect to the path of movement of the pusher 18. The preferred disposition of the cutting blade 20 is within the range of 20 to 40 with respect to the path of pusher movement, although, in certain instances, just about any blade disposition will be operative, more or less, to cut a slice from the fruit or vegetable that is being held within the retaining means 16. Nevertheless, a disposition of the cuttlng blade 20 in the 20 to 40 range, and preferably at the 30 relationship, will achieve a quicker, cleaner and more efficient cut.

The thickness of the slice obtained by the action of cutting blade 20 may be regulated by the adjustment of pan portion 66 with respect to blade portion 64. In this way, the vertical spacing V (FIG. 3) existing between blade portion 64 and pan portion 66 may be varied in order to produce a slice of desired thickness. This may be accomplished by vertical movement of the pan 66 within slots 74 (FIG. 2) which are formed in the pan portion 66. Set screws are provided so that once the pan 66 is brought to a desired relationship with respect to the blade portion 64, then the set screws are tightened in order to maintain this relationship. The adjustability of the pan portion 66 with respect to the blade portion 64 may be accomplished in other ways. For instance, an adjustment screw or means may be provided at the rear end of the pan portion, with such adjustment means serving to cam the pan portion upwardly upon upwardly inclined slots, and thus the linear movement of the adjustment screw will, in turn, vary the position of the pan portion in the slots. This has the effect of precisely locating the plane of the pan portion with respect to the plane of the blade portion.

In view of the foregoing description, it will be seen that a piece of produce 76 shown in dashed line in FIG. 2 can be held in the retaining means 16 and in particular, in the arcuate configuration defined by the arms 73. It is preferred that the arms 78 be disposed with respect to each other in an angle of at least 90 and possibly of slightly greater angle to provide a retaining area. The arms 78 include outer wings 80 that are slidably received in preformed slots in ledges 36 and then held in place by way of set screws 82.

As further seen in FIG. 1, a block 84 is formed immediately behind arms 78, and the block 84 receives post 86 to which is pivotally secured retaining member 88 having grasping knob 90.

In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that the handle 68 will be grasped in order to urge the pusher 18 toward the stationary retaining means 16 in which produce 76 is held. This has the effect of urging the cutting blade 20 into the stationary produce 76, and the cutting blade 20 accordingly passes through the produce 76 in order to produce a slice of produce 76 having the thickness 3 which is the separation between the upper blade portion 64 and lower adjustable pan portion 66 as can be seen in FIG. 3. As further seen in FIG. 3, wiper means 22 extends downwardly from the lower surface of the blade portion 64 and the wiper 22 is secured to the underface of the blade portion 64 by weld 92. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the wiper means 22 extends away from the blade portion 64 at an inclined angle which is preferably at about 30 with respect to the plane of the upper blade portion 64. The free end of the wiper means 22 is formed as a convex or somewhat arcuate edge 94 for the purpose of facilitating the forcing of the slice of produce through the blades 24 and 26 of the grid means 14.

From FIG. 3 it can be seen that the transverse blades 24 of the grid means 14 are disposed in a plane that is perpendicular 40 the plane of wiper 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the transverse blades 24 are disposed in the plane that lies in the 60 angle with respect to the plane of upper blade portion 64. This relative disposition of wiper means 22 and transverse blades 24 enables the wiper means 22 to urge the slice of produce against inclined transverse blades 24 as well as longitudinal blades 26 of grid means 14. In some cases, the longitudinal blades 6 may be inclined in the same manner as the transverse blades 24 or the longitudinal blades 26 may be inclined at some other angle.

From the foregoing it can be seen that as the blade cuts a slice from the produce 56, that such slice extends between the blade 20 (FIG. 3) and the forward edge of adjustable pan portion 66. With further advancement of pusher 18, the leading portion of the slice of produce will lie against the blades and 26 of the grid means 14 to be forced through the blades 24 and 26 by advancement of the wiper means 22.

From the foregoing it can also be seen that the multipurpose cutting device of the present invention not only produces a slice of produce, but in addition, causes the slice to be further subdivided by the action of the wiper means 22 against the blades of the grid means 14. I

From FIG. 7 it will be seen that the grid means 14 is essentially a frame 96 having appropriate slots which receive the various blades 24 and 26. The blades themselves have slots so that they can interfit, one on the other, in a typical egg crate style. As further indicated in FIG. 7, the longitudinal blades 26 are held at each end in tension blocks 98 with tightening screws 100 being provided. The screws 100 extend through the frame 96 in appropriate openings and the screws 100 are threaded into the tension blocks 98. See FIG. 4 wherein the tension blocks 98 receive blades 26 through connecting pin 102. Since tension blocks 98 are located at each end of the longitudinal blades 26, it can be seen that tightening of the screws 100 on each side of the frame 96 will have the effect of urging the tension blocks away from each other, and this in turn increases the degree of tension imposed upon the longitudinal blades 26.

In some cases it may be desirable to replace the somewhat open grid means 14 of FIG. 7 with the grid means 114 of FIG. 9 wherein there is a greater number of intersecting blades, such that the grid means 114 is highly useful in producing diced fruits and vegetables. Also, if grids are removed, a plain slice can be achieved. Any type of grid can be made, i.e., wavy, straight (french fries).

The wiper means 22 simply urges the slice of fruit or vegetable against the grid means 114 which is a network of intersecting blades. The blades themselves may be inclined in the manner of blades 24 of FIG. 3, as will occur to those skilled in the art.

While the present invention has been described with reference to a manual pushing action by way of engagement of handle 68, nevertheless, it is contemplated that in some instances a motor will be utilized in order to imparta reciprocating motion to the pusher 18.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate my invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

I claim:

1. A multi-purpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, cutting grid means including cutting blades oriented in a first direction and pusher means adapted to be moved along a linear path and comprising a cutting blade, wiper means and means to move said pusher along said path to move said blade relative to and through a portion of said article to produce a slice, and to move said wiper means to force said slice in said first direction through said grid means to subdivide said slice.

2. The cutting device of claim 1 including a slot adjacent said cutting blade to allow said slice to move in contact with said grid means as said slice is formed, whereby said wiper means force said slice through said grid means in said first direction as another portion of said slice is still being formed.

3. The cutting device of claim 1 including a stationary frame supporting said pusher as well as said cutting grid means, said frame carrying retaining means to hold the article to be cut as well as carrying said cutting grid, said pusher moving toward said retaining means with said article being held in said retaining means, whereby said blade is moved to and through said article to produce a slice of said article and said wiper means force said slice in said first direction through said cutting grid.

4. A multipurpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, cutting grid means and pusher means, said pusher means having a path of movement and comprising a cutting blade, wiper means and means to move said blade relative to and through a portion of said article to produce a slice, said wiper means forcing said slice through said grid means to subdivide said slice, said cutting blade lying at an angle with respect to said pusher path of movement, said angle being between 20 and 40.

5. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 4 wherein said angle is 30.

6. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 4 wherein said pusher includes an upper blade portion and a lower pan portion with said grid means being disposed below the plane of said pan portion whereby said slice will pass between said blade portion and pan portion to reach said grid means.

7. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 1 wherein said grid means is comprised of intersecting blades.

8. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 7 wherein at least certain of said grid blades are inclined and lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of said wiper means.

9. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 8 wherein said wipe means are disposed in a plane that lies in a 30 angle with resect to the plane of said pusher, and certain of said grid blades lie in a plane that is disposed at a 60 angle with respect to the plane of said pusher.

10. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 1 wherein said means to hold an article to be cut are comprised of a pair of arms that lie at an angle with respect to each other of at least 11. The multi-purpese cutting device of claim 6 wherein said pusher and lower pan portion are adjustable with respect to each other in order to vary the thickness of said slice.

Patent No. 3,765,288

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Dated October 16, 1973 Clayton E. Giangiulio It is certified that errors appear in the aboveidentified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Signed and sealed this 23rd day of July 197A.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY Mm GIBSONNR Attesting Officer Claim 9 2nd line Column 4, line 37 "73" should Column 5, line 3 "40" should be to.

Column 5 line 11 "6" should be --26-.

Column 5 line 19 "25" should "wipe" should be -wiper--.

Claim 9 line 3 "resect" should be -respect-.

Claim 11, line 1 "multi-purpese" should be -multipurpose-.

C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner of Patents 

1. A multi-purpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, cutting grid means including cutting blades oriented in a first direction and pusher means adapted to be moved along a linear path and comprising a cutting blade, wiper means and means to move said pusher along said path to move said blade relative to and through a portion of said article to produce a slice, and to move said wiper means to force said slice in said first direction through said grid means to subdivide said slice.
 2. The cutting device of claim 1 including a slot adjacent said cutting blade to allow said slice to move in contact with said grid means as said slice is formed, whereby said wiper means force said slice through said grid means in said first direction as another portion of said slice is still being formed.
 3. The cutting device of claim 1 including a stationary frame supporting said pusher as well as said cutting grid means, said frame carrying retaiNing means to hold the article to be cut as well as carrying said cutting grid, said pusher moving toward said retaining means with said article being held in said retaining means, whereby said blade is moved to and through said article to produce a slice of said article and said wiper means force said slice in said first direction through said cutting grid.
 4. A multipurpose cutting device comprising means to hold an article to be cut, cutting grid means and pusher means, said pusher means having a path of movement and comprising a cutting blade, wiper means and means to move said blade relative to and through a portion of said article to produce a slice, said wiper means forcing said slice through said grid means to subdivide said slice, said cutting blade lying at an angle with respect to said pusher path of movement, said angle being between 20* and 40*.
 5. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 4 wherein said angle is 30*.
 6. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 4 wherein said pusher includes an upper blade portion and a lower pan portion with said grid means being disposed below the plane of said pan portion whereby said slice will pass between said blade portion and pan portion to reach said grid means.
 7. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 1 wherein said grid means is comprised of intersecting blades.
 8. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 7 wherein at least certain of said grid blades are inclined and lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of said wiper means.
 9. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 8 wherein said wipe means are disposed in a plane that lies in a 30* angle with resect to the plane of said pusher, and certain of said grid blades lie in a plane that is disposed at a 60* angle with respect to the plane of said pusher.
 10. The multi-purpose cutting device of claim 1 wherein said means to hold an article to be cut are comprised of a pair of arms that lie at an angle with respect to each other of at least 90*.
 11. The multi-purpese cutting device of claim 6 wherein said pusher and lower pan portion are adjustable with respect to each other in order to vary the thickness of said slice. 